HPT Conference
Best of 2008: Important research findings you may have missed
Ryan Watkins, Ph.D.
George Washington University
An Examination of the Relationship Among Structure, Trust, and Conflict Management Styles
in Virtual Teams
By Xiaojing Liu, Richard J. Magjuka, and Seung-hee Lee
Performance Improvement Quarterly, 2 1 ( 1 ) P P . 7 7 – 9 3
Abstract
The emergence of new technologies has made it increasingly easy for distributed collaboration in
both educational and noneducational settings. Although the effectiveness in traditional settings of the
dynamics of small group work has been widely researched, there is limited research that offers
evidence on how teams can work effectively in a virtual environment. The purpose of this study is to
examine the relationship among team structure, trust, and conflict management style, in addition to
their impact on teamwork effectiveness in a virtual environment. An experimental design was used
to assess the effects of structure on team performance. Forty-four groups, divided into hierarchical
and nonhierarchical groups, worked on an online simulation project in an online MBA course. The
results suggest that team structure is strongly associated with team performance, whereas trust and a
collaboration conflict management style contribute to teamwork satisfaction.
Determinants of Compensation: A Study of Pay, Performance, and Gender Differences for
Fundraising Professionals
By Debra J. Mesch, Patrick M. Rooney
Nonprofit Management & Leadership, vol. 18, no. 4, Summer 2008
Abstract
This study examines the determinants of compensation for fundraising professionals by addressing
the following research questions: (1) Is there a significant pay-performance relationship? (2) What
are the factors that affect bonus and salary? (3) Is there a gender-pay gap for individuals who are in
the role of fundraisers? Data were collected over a four-year period from a national sample of
fundraising professionals employed across all industry classifications. Amount of money raised was
the primary performance variable of interest. Bivariate tests for differences between males and
females, as well as two-stage simultaneous regressions, were used to determine the effects of
fundraising performance on the pay of fundraisers. Results indicated a significant and positive payperformance linkage across all fundraising positions, particularly for chief development officers, as
well as a consistent gender-pay gap across fundraising positions.
Ryan Watkins (www.ryanrwatkins.com)
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HPT Conference
Engaging Contexts: Drawing the Link between Student and Teacher Experiences of the
Hidden Curriculum
By Regina D. Langhout and Cecily A. Mitchel
Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 18: 593–614 (2008)
Abstract
This article examines how academic disengagement (being off task, unenthusiastic and uncurious
about learning) is facilitated by the hidden curriculum (the values, norms and beliefs transmitted via
the structure of schooling), and mediated by race, ethnicity and gender for students in a working
class elementary school. Additionally, we contextualize how a teacher was challenged by the hidden
curriculum in her attempt to make her classroom environment engaging for all students. Participants
included a young white female teacher and 21 second grade, low-income students, of whom
approximately 50% were white and 50% were Black or Latino/a. A teacher interview and field-notes
covering 8 hours a week over 3 months comprised the data. Results indicated that students were
required to show their engagement in particular ways that related to control and conformity. When
they did not, they were reprimanded, which led to academic disengagement and the transmission of
the hidden curriculum’s message that school was not a place for them. This process was especially
salient for Black and Latino boys, which indicated that the hidden curriculum was institutionalized.
Results also showed that the hidden curriculum was a structural limitation for the teacher, as she was
often thwarted in her attempts to create an academically engaging learning environment.
Implications include strategies for school change and reform, including making the hidden
curriculum more visible.
Executive Compensation and Firm Performance: Adjustment Dynamics, Non-linearity and
Asymmetry
By Giorgio Canarella and Mahmoud M. Nourayib
Managerial and Decision Economics 29: 293–315 (2008)
Abstract
The relationship between executive compensation and firm performance is a field of intense
theoretical and empirical research. The purpose of this study is to gain additional insights into the
nature of this relationship by examining empirically the relatively unexplored areas of its dynamics
of adjustment, as well as its non-linearity. The findings of this study show strong evidence in support
of the view that (a) executive compensation is characterized by a dynamic process of adjustment,
and (b) the relationship between executive compensation and firm performance is non-linear and
asymmetric. Additionally, the structure of asymmetry is found to be dependent on the measure of
performance. Convexity characterizes the asymmetry of the relationship between executive
compensation and market returns, while concavity distinguishes the asymmetry of the relationship
between executive compensation and accounting returns.
Ryan Watkins (www.ryanrwatkins.com)
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HPT Conference
Feedback acceptance in developmental assessment centers: the role of feedback
message, participant personality, and affective response to the feedback session
By Suzanne T. Bell And Winfred Arthur Jr.
Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29, 681–703 (2008)
Abstract
We investigated feedback acceptance by participants (N=141) in an operational developmental
assessment center (AC). Consistent with predictions based on self-enhancement theory and the
Affective Infusion Model, results indicated that higher assessor ratings were associated with higher
feedback acceptance, and this relationship was partially mediated by the participant’s affective
reaction to the feedback session. Participants’ self-ratings of their AC performance did not affect this
relationship suggesting no support for our prediction based on self-verification theory. We also
investigated the role of participants’ self-ratings of agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional
stability in feedback acceptance by testing specific moderated mediation hypotheses. Extraversion
was related to feedback acceptance through the affective reaction to the feedback session.
Agreeableness moderated the affective reaction to the feedback session and feedback acceptance
relationship such that there was a strong relationship between affective reaction and feedback
acceptance for highly agreeable participants, but no relationship for low agreeable individuals. For
low agreeable individuals, there was a positive direct relationship between the assessor ratings and
feedback acceptance which was not observed for highly agreeable individuals. The hypothesized
role of emotional stability in predicting feedback acceptance was not supported. Implications for the
delivery of feedback in developmental ACs are discussed in light of these findings.
Implications of Domain-General ‘‘Psychological Support Skills’’ for Transfer of Skill and
Acquisition of Expertise
By David W. Eccles and Paul J. Feltovich
Performance Improvement Quarterly, 2 1 ( 1 ) pp. 4 3 – 6 0
Abstract
The article proposes that individuals who acquire certain psychological support skills may
experience accelerated learning and enhanced performance in many domains. In support of this
proposal, we present evidence that these skills enhance learning and performance, that they are
domain-general in that they can be applied in a variety of domains, and that they can be taught and
learned. We also discuss two implications of the skills for current theories of expertise. The first is
that any observed transfer of expertise between domains might result as much from the support
supplied by application of the skills during learning and performance as from any direct transfer
achieved due to two domains sharing similar task elements. The second is that use of these skills
might contribute to an understanding of how performers sustain the motivation necessary for the
extended period of deliberate practice required to maximize skill acquisition.
Ryan Watkins (www.ryanrwatkins.com)
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HPT Conference
Improving the quality of evaluation participation: a meta-evaluation
By Darlene Russ-Eft and Hallie Preskill
Human Resource Development International, Vol. 11, No. 1, February 2008, 35–50
Abstract
This study presents a meta-evaluation of a beta-test undertaken of a customer service training
program. The initial evaluation showed a low level of participation in the beta-test evaluations.
Therefore, the meta-evaluation (or an evaluation of the evaluation) focused on issues related to the
conduct of the initial evaluation and reasons for non-response. The meta-evaluation identified
solutions to the participation problem as related to authority, capacity and motivation.
Institutional Economics and Human Resource Development
By Greg G Wang and Rita L Dobbs
Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(6), 770
Abstract
The problem and the solution. Institutional economics has long been associated with economic and
training behaviors in organizations since the 1950s. Human resource development (HRD) scholars
have not been adequately exposed to the relevant theories for its foundational role and direct
applicability to HRD research and practice. In an effort to properly understand economics as a
foundation of HRD, this article presents institutional economic theories and models pertinent to
HRD research and practices. By examining institutional school of contemporary economics,
especially the internal labor market theory, it is shown that economic theories not only provide a
foundation but also have important implications to research and analytical approaches to the field of
HRD.
Investigating the Success of Decision Making Processes
By Paul C. Nutt
Journal of Management Studies, 45:2 March 2008
Abstract
A decision making process is made up of action-taking steps indicating how to make a decision.
When linked to indicators of success, process provides the basis for building an action theory for
decision making. The success of many different types of processes must be documented before such
a theory can be constructed. In this research, processes called ‘idea imposition’ and ‘discovery’ are
investigated by analyzing 202 organizational decisions and their outcomes. Discovery was derived
from prescriptive literature, which stresses logical and political rationality. Idea imposition was
inferred from the descriptive/interpretive literature, which stresses pragmatics and sense making.
Some of the discovery efforts may be abandoned to exploit an opportunity, becoming an ‘emergent
opportunity’ process. Idea imposition efforts end if the motivating idea fails, calling for steps to find
a replacement with a ‘redevelopment’ process. Analysis revealed that discovery was more successful
than idea imposition and both process adaptations. Discovery was more successful than the other
three processes no matter what the urgency, importance, resource level, initial support, decision
maker level, sector, or type of decision.
Ryan Watkins (www.ryanrwatkins.com)
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HPT Conference
Long work hours: a social identity perspective on meta-analysis data
By Thomas W. H. Ng and Daniel C. Feldman
Journal of Organizational Behavior 29, 853–880 (2008)
Abstract
The current study utilizes social identity theory to investigate employees’ work hours. Specifically,
we use meta-analysis to examine the relationships between hours worked and indicators of
organizational identity (e.g., organizational support and tenure), occupational identity (e.g., human
capital investments and work centrality), and family identity (e.g., family responsibilities and family
satisfaction). The meta-analysis also allowed us to explore other important correlates of hours
worked (e.g., situational demands, job performance, mental health, and physical health), moderating
variables (e.g., age, gender, and job complexity), and curvilinear relationships of work hours to
social identity indicators. Overall, we found that occupational factors and situational demands had
the strongest relationships with hours worked, hours worked were negatively associated with
measures of employee well-being, gender had several significant moderating effects, and there were
curvilinear relationships between hours worked and well-being and work–family conflict variables.
The article concludes with directions for future theoretical and empirical research.
Organizational diversity, integration and performance
By Andrew H. Van De Ven, Russel W. Rogers, John P. Bechara, And Kangyong Sun
Journal of Organizational Behavior 29, 335–354 (2008)
Abstract
This research examines how integrative methods of open communications, involvement, and conflict
resolution in implementing an organizational change initiative moderate the relationship between
cognitive diversity among employees and organization performance. In this longitudinal study of 37
medical clinics, we find that the interaction of integrative methods and diversity of models for
organizing among employees has a significant positive effect on clinic revenue, productivity, and
patient satisfaction. An important practical implication of these findings is that instead of seeking
consensus on a singular vision of a strategic change initiative, managers are more likely to improve
organization performance by focusing their interventions on creating integrative methods for
encouraging and learning from diverse and opposing views of an organizational change initiative.
Performance Implications Of Delayed Competitive Responses: Evidence From The U.S. Retail
Industry
By Jens L. Boyd And Rudi K. F. Bresser
Strategic Management Journal 29: 1077–1096 (2008)
Abstract
The timing of competitive actions and responses is a key management concern that has important
performance consequences. This study focuses on the timing and consequences of competitive
responses. Theory predicts a negative linear relationship between response delay and responder
performance mirrored by an opposing positive linear relationship between response delay and first
mover performance. In contrast, our study suggests that response delay has a curvilinear relationship
with responder performance, and a linear relationship with first mover performance. We test our
propositions using retail industry data and discuss the implications.
Ryan Watkins (www.ryanrwatkins.com)
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HPT Conference
Task knowledge overlap and knowledge variety: the role of advice network structures and
impact on group effectiveness
By Sze-Sze Wong
Journal of Organizational Behavior 29, 591–614 (2008)
Abstract
Drawing from the structural perspective of social capital theory, this research investigates how
internal and external advice network structures influence knowledge overlap and variety and, how
these knowledge dimensions in turn influence group effectiveness. Findings from two studies on
knowledge-intensive groups indicate that different advice network structures are associated with
knowledge overlap and knowledge variety, and only knowledge variety was significantly associated
with group effectiveness. In addition, despite implicit understanding that advice networks aid
performance through enhancing knowledge outcomes, only knowledge variety was found to mediate
the relationship between external network and group effectiveness. Implications for theory and
practice are discussed.
The Effect of Performance Support and Training as Performance Interventions
By Nguyen, F. & Klein, J.D.
Performance Improvement Quarterly. Volume 21 Issue 1, Pages 95 - 114
Abstract
For decades, training has been one of the most common interventions used by
organizations to improve the performance of their employees and to teach them new ideas and skills.
Due to the cost of developing and delivering training, organizations have adopted alternate ways to
enable employee performance while reducing the cost of training and minimizing the time users
spend away from the job. One alternative to training is electronic performance support systems
(EPSS). The present study examined the effect of electronic performance support and training on
user performance, attitudes, use of EPSS, time on task, and time in training. Results revealed that
participants receiving only EPSS and those receiving training and EPSS performed significantly
better on a tax preparation procedure than participants who only received training. Attitudes for the
two groups receiving performance support were also significantly higher than attitudes for the
training-only condition. Results indicated that training-only users spent significantly more time
completing the procedural task than their counterparts in other treatment groups leading to a negative
correlation between time on task and performance. The implications of these findings on the design
and development of performance support and training interventions are discussed.
Ryan Watkins (www.ryanrwatkins.com)
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